The Walmart employees are not captives. Minimum wage is not meant to support families. I do not support Walmart, nor do I favor unions. If, however, the poor ceased applying at Walmart, the company would have to raise wages to attract employees. Time was when the poor man wanted to better himself, he went to college, or, learned a trade, or took a second job. He did not complain about the wage he agreed to accept upon his hiring. Nowadays, rather than improving himself and his family, he performs rudimentary entry level employment and simply screams for higher pay while making up the difference with the sweat off others' backs. Why did these people agree to work for the stated wage and benefits in the beginning? How many people plan to accept an employer's terms today only to gripe about the pay tomorrow? It is these citizens who want to "tax the rich" not out of national economic concern, for the current plan will bring in a mere 80 billion per year, but, simply to hurt "the rich", - a very warped sense of "fairness." This is why the poor are poor, and will always remain poor.

dead on otis

Good points, Otis. Don't expect it to resonate with the usual Lib posters on here.

Yes people unite. Yes. Yes. Union.

Bubba

The poor who are applying at Walmart or any other companies that offer low wages were once called the working class poor. These people have made a choice to work in order to support themselves & their families instead of expecting the government to carry them. If more people had this work ethic our welfare rolls & unemployment stats wouldn't be so high. I see NOW HIRING signs all over with no takers. Why? because the benefits & wages are low, the hours are not suitable etc & living off the system is so much easier & these lazy ones get all the perks of the system. I say go to work & then if conditions are such that we still struggle then the government should step in & offer subsidies for the working poor not the lazy ones that feel that America needs to provide for them. I support child care subsidies, food stamps & healt insurance for the elderly & the working poor not the lazy ones or the disabled fakers.

Let the people Laurie calls the working poor help themselves and help them vote for a Union. That is what the middle class does to improve working conditions.

Bubba says Laurie you want more government helping the working poor that dont sound right

The give away subsidies, are not managed properly. Nobody wants to be accountable and that is why the lazy freeloaders and crooks get a free ride. This country will be worse than many third world countries in the next 50 years. If the poor would get an education, like many of the other poor people do, then they could better themselves. Poverty runs in the family, if you think this is cold, look around. Grandpa gets welfare, his son gets welfare, his grandkids get welfare and their kids will get it if there is any left......and the crooks take the rest.....

Don't blame Walmart. blame the american consumer.

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Walmart can raise it's prices and give employees more benefits. but the raised prices will mean people will shop elsewhere. Which will reduce profits and reduce jobs. meaning fewer jobs for people who have no "other job skills". They will be forced to find other retail work. In general retail work has never paid great for the average worker. because other companies havethe same issues.

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So this isn't walmart's fault. Walmart is just playing with the hand they were dealt.

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I agree with Otis. Walmart employees are not captive. They can go to college (most will prob qualify for Pell grants based on low income) and better themselves. They've got to step up and do something to improve themselves instead of wanting society to solve their low income problems.

Bubba, please explain why unskilled, entry level positions should pay high wages. People do not stay at that level for their entire lives. As they age and acquire new skills and knowledge, or, at the very least, time in rank, and work their way up the ladder, their incomes rise. Those who have risen to middle age yet retain solely entry level skill have themselves to blame, not Walmart. Higher wages will lead to higher prices, a hardship on all of society, and you will not have improved yourself at all. The demand for a higher wage without a higher contribution will quickly bankrupt business.

What I said was the ones working need help such as grants to further themselves & daycare subsidies so they can work or go to school & advance themselves. The poor who have been lazy & using the system for multiple generations need to be cut off from the free ride. & earn some of there government assistance by being held accountable. How can they be held accountable? Make them enroll in programs that would get them up another rung or more on the financial ladder. Cut off the lazies & pretenders & substance abusers & criminals. The bible says that if you don't work you don't eat. As for unions I grew up in a union environment back when the unions were for the hard working employee. They protected the people from being cheated out of their fair share, but that was 30+ years ago. Today I see how the union leaders are only out for themselves financially & they protect the lazy workers by giving them senority rights & some of the union workers use that to slack off on the job while temps are hired @ min wages & worked like they are nobodies, while other union workers who have been in the union for 30+ years see their benefits cut more & more with each new contract.

Remember this folks.....the poor child slave labor producing these goods for "Made in China" Mart are far worse off than China Mart employees.

Remember this folks....The poor child labor producing these goods for Made in China is getting a higher wage, than if Walmart were not to buy the made in china goods.....

FIRE STATION, based on your pledgerized comments, it appears you support poor child labor in producing any goods as long as they are paid. You missed the point completely.

Laurie - Are you at all familiar with PRWORA? The Act, commonly referred to as "Welfare Reform" was implemented in 1996 under President Clinton. In part, it requires that all welfare recipients be evaluated and participate in job skills training/search and established substantial penalties for State programs that failed to perform in moving folks from welfare to work. This Act also established a 60 month lifetime maximum for an individual's receipt of welfare benefits.

The most typical "welfare" recipient is a single mother who is not receiving financial support from her child(rens) father, but there are single fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. who seek assistance due to a lack of financial support from one or both of the child's parents. Once benefits are awarded, recipients are also required to cooperate with the State agency in obtaining support from the parents who are shirking their responsibility.

We can eliminate the need for this program by "making" BOTH parents accept the financial responsibility that comes along with having and raising a child. It's that simple. So,while we're at it, let's "make" people quit killing each other, stealing, cheating, etc.

Radical idea..... Go work somewhere else!!!